Ultimate XMen: WEAPON X
by Dino Pollard
Summary: Takes place after RISING SUN. This is what the entire series has been leading up to. Questions are answered and mysteries resolved as the Shadow King makes his move. May God help us all...
1. Part I: Shadows

* * *

Issue #25 

"WEAPON X"  
Part I: Shadows 

_by Dino Pollard_

* * *

Harry's Hideaway. A local coffeehouse not far from the Xavier University. Sitting here are seven members of the government-sponsored mutant strike force known as the X-Men. Hank McCoy sips his coffee slowly, while his teammates eye him curiously. He sets down the cup and his eyes scan over each of them.

Kurt Darkholme, a recent addition to the team and former terrorist sits next to him. He wears a hodded sweatshirt and gloves to hide his demonic appearence, but the glow of his yellow eyes can still be seen. He doesn't like putting on this get-up for going out in public. Forced to shove his birdlike feet in shoes made for human feet, and flinching uncomfortable with his tail stuffed down one of the legs of his baggy jeans. He goes by the codename of Nightcrawler, and has the ability to teleport across distances.

Next to Kurt is his sister, Marie Darkholme. Like Kurt, she is a recent, albeit reluctant addition to the team. Unlike her brother, who is possessed of pitch-black skin, she is Caucasian with short, brown hair that has a white stripe in it. Her attractive features, however, draw away from her ability to absorb the memories and abilities of anyone she comes into contact with. As Rogue, she fought beside her brother as a part of the terrorist Brotherhood. Currently, she possesses abilities she absorbed from an absent X-Man, Storm.

Hank's eyes next move to Scott Summers. A relatively well-built young man with short, spiked brown hair and a slight goatee. His eyes are concealed by ruby-quartz sunglasses, designed to keep his uncontrollable optic blasts at bay. He goes by the name Cyclops.

John Proudstar, a former high school athlete called Thunderbird sits next to Scott. Apache by birth, as well as a mutant gifted with superhuman strength, speed, and stamina. Something of a braggart and a hothead, but he's proven himself reliable when it counts.

Alison Blaire, the Dazzler, sits to John's left. She's a former pop star who lost her career after the truth of her mutant identity was revealed. She possesses the ability to convert sound into light, and unlike her teammates, she still hasn't fully adjusted to the life of a mutant. In fact, she downright hates it.

Sitting between Ali and Hank is Monet St. Croix, or M, a young Algerian woman whom Hank is romantically involved with. One would think that her ability is perfection. Superior intellect, superhuman strength, flight, and resistance to injury make her a force to be reckoned with.

And, of course, there is Hank himself. Christianed the Beast (much to his dismay) due to his simian appearence. He possesses superhuman strength and agility, as well as prehensile hands and feet. Currently absent from this group are three X-Men. Logan, or Wolverine, the team's field leader, who is off on an assignment for SHIELD. Ororo Munroe, or Storm, who was kidnapped while she was in a comatose state. And Jean Grey, or Psyche, who is currently comatose and the reason these X-Men have gathered here today.

"So... someone gonna speak up or what?" asks John.

"I'm sure you all know why I asked you here today," says Hank.

"Not really," says John.

"Dreams, John," says Monet. "Specifically, dreams of Jean."

"Hey, I didn't have dreams about her," says John. "I got zero interest in her."

"Not sexual dreams, you buffoon," says Monet.

"Who says buffoon anymore?" asks John. "Honestly..."

"Soo..." says Ali. "How'd you know about the dream?"

"Because I have a feeling we all dreamed the same thing," says Hank. "Jean came to each of us in our sleep. She said something about the Professor being controlled by someone called the Shadow King."

"What's it mean?" asks Scott.

"Isn't it obvious?" asks John. "Too much White Castle. Hey, why'd we come here anyway?"

"Suppose Jean actually is trying to contact us," replies Monet. "This Shadow King is obviously a telepath of some sort, and with Xavier's powers added to his own, he could easily read our minds if we were back at the mansion."

"What are we gonna do then?" asks Marie. "If he can read our minds, then he'll figure it out as soon as we get back."

"Think back to the screening techniques Xavier taught us," says Monet. "Use them."

"That's fine for you all, but what about Marie and I?" asks Kurt. "Xavier's been comatose since we joined up with you."

"Okay, then what about the other new addition?" asks Ali.

"What?" asks Hank.

"Kitty Pryde," replies Ali. "What do we do about her?"

"Nothing," says Monet. "Jean doesn't know her, so she wouldn't have contacted her. No reason to bring someone else into this matter. It's bad enough Nightcrawler and Rogue don't know how to shield their thoughts."

"And what are we gonna do about that?" asks Kurt.

"I'm more than qualified to teach them to you," replies Monet.

"I think we're still forgetting about something," says John.

"What's that?" asks Scott.

"O," replies John. "What are we gonna do about her?"

"The only way we can locate her is with Cerebro," says Hank. "And with Xavier possessed and Jean comatose, none of us are suited to use it. It only works for telepaths, remember?"

"So we let her stay missing?" asks John.

"It sounds cold, but that's our only option," replies Hank.

"And what about Xavier or the Shadow King or whatever the fuck he calls himself?" asks Scott. "What are we gonna do about him?"

"Lay low," replies Monet. "Try and figure out what his game is."

"Shouldn't we tell Fury about this?" asks Ali. "After all, he's like, the guy in charge, right?"

"I'm not sure if we can trust Fury yet," says Monet. "When the time is right, we'll tell him."

"How will we know when the time's right?" asks John.

"I'll tell you," replies Monet.

Scott Summers glances away for a moment, then turns back to the group. He stops, as if confused, and looks back in the direction he glanced in not a moment earlier. Slowly, he stands, and walks closer in that direction, his eyes fixated on something.

"Guys..." he says. "Remember how you were worried about finding O?"

"What about it?" asks John.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about," he replies.

"Huh?" asks John. He stands and walks to Scott's location. Scott simply lifts a finger and points at a television set hanging from the ceiling. The other X-Men gather around him and watch in horror.

* * *

A leather-clad finger taps the top of Gris Gris's head. He slowly opens his eyes and finds himself staring at a large black man with very short hair and a goatee. The man is dressed in a suit with a trench coat over it.

"Found one," he says.

A young, attractive black woman with short blonde hair approaches. She's wearing a suit and trench coat as well, although hers is obviously more feminine. The man stands as she comes close, and towers over her by several inches.

"What the hell happened?" asks Gris Gris.

"Interesting choice of words," says the woman. She reaches inside her trench coat and pulls out a wallet of some sort, and flips it open. Gris Gris can plainly see the letters "FBI" printed on the identification card which also bears the woman's photograph.

"We were about to ask you the same thing."

* * *

High above the city of New York hovers Ororo Munroe, the woman known as Storm. Although the body is hers, the mind in control is that of the mysterious being known only as the Shadow King. Her eyes glow a bright red, and she grins as her body begins to crackle with lightning.

**_"Pathetic humans..." _**'she' says. **_"Watch them scatter!"_**

She raises her arm and lightning soars from the clouds, striking a point in the center of the street. People run from the floating woman, and she laughs. She points a finger at one of them, and lightning soars from her fingertip, striking the man dead. 

She hovers to the ground and lands. As she does, gale force winds begin to whip all around her. So strong that they take people with them and turn over cars. Rain and sleet and hail begin to pour down from the darkened clouds in sheets. Fog covers the streets. The temperature begins to lower. Lightning strikes random people.

**_"I never realized how fun controlling the weather could be."_**

* * *

{{ Colonel Fury, would you mind telling me _why_ a member of the X-Men is wreaking havoc on American citizens?! }}

"Wish I had an answer for that, Mr. President," says Fury. "But I don't. Storm vanished from the infirmary not too long ago, and this is the first we've seen of her since."

{{ And what in God's name are you going to do about it?! }}

"Xavier's trying to get in telepathic contact with the other X-Men right now," says Fury. "We'll take care of this, sir."

{{ You had better. }}

The form of Charles Xavier wheels into the war room where Colonel Nick Fury is speaking to the President via video uplink.

"Here he is now," says Fury with a motion towards the X-Men's founder.

{{ Xavier? }}

"I'm sorry, sir," says Xavier. "But for some reason, I haven't been able to locate the other X-Men."

"What?" asks Fury.

"They don't seem to be responding to my summons," says the Professor. "I'm not sure what it could be."

{{ Why wouldn't they be responding? }} 

"Could be several reasons," says Xavier. "The one that concerns me the most is that they might already know of Storm's terrorist actions, and perhaps don't wish to stop her."

"WHAT?!" demands Fury.

The President looks offscreen for a moment, and then his eyes turn back to the camera.

{{ I have other matters to attend to. Fury, you had better get to work on this problem immediately. }}

"Yes sir," says Fury.

The image of the President vanishes from the monitor, and Fury turns to face Xavier with a confused look in his remaining eye.

"Can you explain to me why you just fed Bush that load of bullshit?" he asks.

"It wasn't bullshit, Colonel," replies Xavier. 

"I don't believe you," says Fury. "You've been acting weird ever since you came out of that coma."

"Have I?" asks Xavier. "Apologies Colonel. Killing a person does that to me. I know that I may not be as adept in it as you are, but that doesn't make it easy for me to deal with."

"Something's not right here," says Fury. "And I'm gonna get to the bottom of it."

Fury turns away from Xavier and heads towards the door. Before he reaches it, he stops short. His hand grips his head as he feels tremendous pressure inside his mind. He opens his mouth to try and say something, but no words come forth. Xavier wheels himself closer, and pulls Fury's head back. The Director of SHIELD stares into the glowing red eyes which once belonged to Charles Xavier, but now belong to the Shadow King.

**_"I don't think you understand, Fury. Storm will not be stopped. This is all a part of the plan. Do you understand?"_**

"It's all... part of... the plan..." mutters Fury.

**_"There, that's a good puppet. Just like your nigger ancestors, you know your place as a slave."_**

"Yes... I do..."

* * *

"What is it, Gyrich?" asks President Bush after he cancels the connection with Fury. Henry Peter Gyrich steps into the President's office, followed by a man in a SHIELD uniform with a bald head and a mustache.

"Sir, this latest escapade proves that the mutants can't be trusted," says Gyrich. "For the safety of Americans, I implore you, allow me to go ahead with Project: SENTINEL."

"Who is this man?" asks Bush, referring to the bald man.

"Colonel John Wraith of SHIELD, Mr. President," replies Wraith. He extends his hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you, sir."

"I don't ever recall hearing your name before, Colonel," says Bush. "Why is that?"

"I head a special black ops program within SHIELD, sir," says Wraith. "Very hush-hush. So much that very few people in the government even know of its existence."

"What would that be?" asks Bush.

"Weapon X, sir," replies Wraith. "We've been active since the ending days of World War I."

"What's Weapon X?" asks Bush.

"Like I said before, a special black ops program," replies Wraith. He drops a folder on the President's desk. "Everything you need to know is in there. We've been training our own mutant strike force since before Project: X-MEN. And now, they're prepared to take out this terrorist threat."

Bush looks through the papers in the folder, shock and anger evident on his face.

"Why was I never told about this, Colonel?"

"Two words, sir," replies Wraith. "Plausible deniability."

"Sir, this man is psychotic," says Gyrich.

"Says the man promoting genocide," says Wraith. "Done any goose-stepping lately?"

"Colonel, what do you want me to do with this information?"

"Frankly sir, all Weapon X has been allowed to do under the guidelines of our program is train a mutant strike force," says Wraith. "In order to unleash our forces on this terrorist, we need the permission of the Commander in Chief."

"Wraith, did you look inside this folder?" asks Bush.

"Sir?"

"All I see here is a list of codenames and photographs to accompany them," says Bush. "I need more to go on than that."

"I'm sorry sir, but that's all the information I can provide you with," says Wraith.

"Then it's not enough," says Bush. "If you want me to permit the use of Weapon X, then I need to receive a complete debriefing, understand?" 

"Yes si—"

The sound of a ringing phone interrupts Wraith in the middle of his sentence. Bush picks it up and listens for a few moments. Anger seems to completely take over his features. He clutches the phone so tightly that his knuckles begin to turn white. Slowly, he lowers it from his ear and places it back on the receiver.

"What was that?" asks Wraith.

"The Statue of Liberty was toppled by gale force winds," replies Bush. He fishes through a pile on his desk, and finds a large packet. He flips to the last page and, grabbing a pen, quickly signs his name at the bottom of it.

"What are you doing?" asks Wraith.

"This has gone far enough," replies Bush. "I'm authorizing Project: SENTINEL."


	2. Part II: Storms

* * *

Issue #26 

"WEAPON X"  
Part II: Storms 

_by Dino Pollard_

* * *

Harry's Hideaway. The X-Men gather around a television set and watch as their teammate, Ororo Munroe, codenamed Storm, wreaks havoc on the city of New York. They watch as she uses her mastery over the winds to tear the Statue of Liberty from its base and hurl it into the bay. All of them are in shock, and none of them, save for one, can find any words.

"Christ O... what've you done..." mutters John Proudstar.

"Come on," says Monet. She turns away from the television and pushes past the other X-Men. 

"Where are you going?" asks Ali.

"Where do you think?" replies Monet. "We have to stop her."

"How are we supposed to get into the mansion without Xavier noticing us?" asks Kurt.

"We're not going back to the mansion," replies Monet. "We're not that far from the city, we can make it on our own steam."

Monet St. Croix walks to the door. She stops when she sees no one is following her and faces the X-Men.

"What are you waiting for?"

Marie Darkholme looks at her teammates, and sees them all struggling with their emotions. She admits feeling her own pang of guilt, for Storm's psyche is still in her mind.

"Screw this, I'm going," she says.

* * *

Henry Peter Gyrich strolls through the halls of NASA with a spring in his step and a grin on his face. Many of the personnel who recognize him stare at him as he walks past. They have never seen him in such a mood, and it somewhat frightens them. He continues walking past, and he enters a room at the end of the hall. There is a man sitting behind the desk, speaking on the phone. He has graying hair and a thin mustache. He looks up when Gyrich enters.

"I'll call you back," he says into the receiver, then hangs up the phone. "Mr. Gyrich, is there something I can do for you?"

Gyrich smiles and drops a document on the man's desk. The document says Project: SENTINEL on it with the word APPROVED stamped over it.

"The President has given the go-ahead, Trask," he says. "How soon can we have Sentinels in New York?"

* * *

Remy LeBeau slowly gets to his feet. He looks around, and sees Gris Gris lying at the mercy of a man and a woman dressed in black. The large black man turns his head to see Remy, and he does a double-take.

"Shit..." mutters Remy. He starts to run, as the black man gives chase.

"Hey, hold it!" he shouts.

Remy ignores him, just continues running. He sends a charge of kinetic energy through his own body, boosting his endurance and speed slightly. Unfortunately for him, the Shadow King's attack was more than he could handle, and the charge is not enough. He feels a strong pair of hands grab his shoulders and pull him back. The large man slams him against the wall.

"Well well, look at who we've got here," he says. "Been awhile, LeBeau."

"B-Bishop..." mutters Remy. Bishop reaches inside his trench coat and pulls out his badge and flashes it at Remy.

"Special Agent Luther Bishop, FBI," he says. "At your service."

He drags Remy back over to his partner and Gris Gris, and throws him on the ground.

"Look who decided to join the party," says Bishop. His partner looks down at him and smiles.

"Remy LeBeau," she says. "Be still, my beating heart."

"H'llo Shard," he says. "How you been, cherie?"

"You how it is with paranormal investigations," she says. "Now, how about you tell us what happened here? Your friend here doesn't seem too willing to speak."

"That's 'cause I can't remember anyt'ing," says Gris Gris.

"Convenient," says Bishop.

"It ain't his fault, hommes," says Remy. "His mind's been scrambled."

"By who?" asks Shard.

"The Shadow King."

Bishop and Shard both look to each other, and then turn to Remy.

"I think you should come with us, LeBeau," he says.

* * *

Area 51, the current headquarters of the top-secret black ops group known as Weapon X. Headed up by Colonel John Wraith of SHIELD. He approaches a large man with white hair who is dressed in full uniform. He stands behind a plate glass window and watches as his charges go through training scenarios. He turns once he sees Wraith approach.

"What did he say?" he asks.

"He wants a full debriefing," replies Wraith. The larger man snorts.

"That's not gonna happen."

"I know," says Wraith. He looks through the window as well. "How are they doing?"

"They're set to go. We're just awaiting the order, Colonel."

"Project: SENTINEL has been approved," says Wraith. 

"Christ..."

"I know, I don't like it anymore than you do," says Wraith. "Make sure the team is ready to go at a moment's notice."

"Done. What's the target?"

"The X-Men."

* * *

Shard sets down a steaming styrofoam cup of coffee on the table that sits before Remy LeBeau. He lifts it to his lips and takes a sip. She takes a seat across the table from him, and Bishop leans against the wall with his arms crossed. His trench coat and suit jacket are both draped over a nearby chair, and his gun is in plain sight. Something he's doing to intimidate Remy.

"This an interrogation or what?" he asks.

"God how I wish it were..." mutters Bishop.

"Who's this Shadow King?" asks Shard.

"What's it worth to you?" asks Remy.

"What do you mean?" asks Bishop.

"Gimme one good reason I should tell you anyt'ing."

"What game are you playing, LeBeau?" asks Bishop.

"I wan' immunity," replies Remy. "If I talk, I walk. Deal?"

"Like he-"

"Deal," says Shard. Bishop looks at her out of the corner of his eye while a single brow goes up.

"Shard, can I speak to you for a moment?" he asks.

"We'll be right back," says Shard to Remy. She turns and walks out of the door which Bishop is holding open. He follows her and closes it behind him.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"What does it look like?" asks Shard. "I'm getting the answers we need."

"You can't be serious," replies Bishop. "We've been trying to nail this guy for years. He's our only link to the Guild. Now he's right in the palm of our hands, and you want him to walk?"

"Did you examine the area thoroughly, Bish?" asks Shard. "Did you notice Strange's body?"

"Strange is dead?"

"Exactly," replies Shard. "And if he's dead, that means the Guild is basically nonexistant. We don't have to worry about them. Anything that can kill Strange deserves our full attention, and if that means letting LeBeau walk, then I'm willing to do it. We have to choose between the lesser of two evils, and as much as I hate to admit it, the lesser here is Gambit."

Bishop sighs and lowers his head. Then, he opens the door and walks back in with Shard following. He closes the door behind her, and Shard takes her seat across from Remy.

"Now, about the Shadow King..." she begins.

"Dunno much about 'im," replies Remy. "What I do know is that he's this powerful... force or somethin'. I'm not sure if he's a mutant or not, but what he does is feeds on negative emotions."

"Where do we find him?" asks Bishop.

"You don't," replies Remy. "He don't exist-least not physically, anyway. He's just this energy thing, a collection of negative emotions and thoughts. An' he can do a lot o' crazy shit. Like possessin' people-multiple people. All at the same time. An' he can make them do whatever he wants."

"If he doesn't exist, how did he cause the damage at the Guildhouse?" asks Shard.

"He possessed someone," replies Remy. "A mutant who can control the weather."

"The weather?" asks Bishop. He walks outside the room.

"What's his problem?" asks Remy, glancing towards the door.

"Not sure," replies Shard, also staring at the door. "This mutant... who is she?"

"Can't tell you that," replies Gambit. 

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

Shard stares at him for a few moments, and then lightly shakes her head. She rubs her eyes, and Remy smiles.

"Tired, chere?"

"Long day..." she mutters. 

The door opens and Bishop steps in, holding something in his hand. He drops a folder in front of Remy, and the Cajun thief slowly opens it up. In it are photographs. Photographs of Storm using her powers against the city of New York. Among the photographs is one of the Statue of Liberty lying in the water.

"That was just the beginning," says Bishop. "It's getting worse. Is this the mutant that the Shadow King is controlling?"

Remy shuts his eyes tightly and solemnly nods. Bishop leans down so that his face is inches from Remy's ear.

"There's something you're not telling us, LeBeau," he says. "I can tell. You're already going to walk, so why don't you tell us what you're holding back?"

"I can't..." mutters Remy.

"And why not?" asks Bishop.

"It's personal," replies Remy. "It can't help you."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Trust me... you don' need to know this."

"You know that immunity we just promised you?" asks Bishop. "If you don't give us full disclosure, then you don't get jack shit. Understand?"

"Yeah... yeah, I understand."

"Then come clean."

"The Shadow King..."

"What about him?" asks Shard. Remy sighs and lowers his head. Once more, he closes his eyes. His hands are clenched into fists so tight that his knuckles begin to turn white.

"He's my father."

"Why am I not surprised..." mutters Bishop.

"You said he's in New York right now?" says Gambit.

"Yes," replies Shard.

"Then that's where I'm going," he says and stands from his seat. Bishop grabs his arm forcefully.

"Hold it," he says. "You're not going anywhere."

"I'm a mutant, too, mon ami," says Gambit. "My biokinetic powers make me virtually invisible t' the Shadow King. I'm the only one who can stand up to him."

"If you think I'm going to let you just walk out of here..."

Remy's eyes flash for a second before he speaks again.

"You got nothin' on me, B," he says. 

Bishop shakes his head, and releases Gambit from his grip. Remy smiles and winks at Shard before walking out the door. For a few minutes she just seems to stare into space, and then she shakes her head.

"Whoa..." she says. "I just blanked out there for a second..."  


* * *

_**"Glorious destruction..." **_says the Shadow King through the mouth of Storm._** "Look at them, my child. They run, they scatter. They fear you. They hate you. And as a result, they hate all mutants. All those negative emotions, feel them coursing through you! Coursing through me—through us!"**_

Storm's body begins to convulse with electricity. She turns her head slightly to see the form of Rogue hovering behind her, carried aloft by the very same winds.

_**"Who dares?"**_

"I dare," replies Rogue. "This is going too far, Storm."

_**"Is it?" **_

"Your voice..." mutters Rogue. "It's different..."

_**"Storm is no longer here, you bastard daughter of a bitch,"**_ says the Shadow King._** "Now, there is only the Shadow King!"**_

"Oh..." mutters Rogue. "Shit."

_**"Precisely," **_says the Shadow King._** "And you are now in a world of it."**_

Dark clouds form in the sky, blocking out the sun. The roar of thunder signals the beginning of the storm as rain begins to pour forth from the skies. Lightning flashes off in the distance, and the wind begins to pick up. The Shadow King controls it all, and slowly, the weather begins to build up faster. The gale forces whip past Rogue, and she tries to fight it with her own control over the wind, but finds that she cannot. The powers she had absorbed from Storm were powerful, but, as it seemed, not powerful enough. She tries to redirect the winds, but the Shadow King has a finer control over Storm's powers than Storm ever did.

Rogue's attack was only meant to distract Storm long enough for M to slam into her with all her strength. The Shadow King falters for a moment, then turns to face her.

**_"Ah, Ms. St. Croix. How nice to finally meet you."_**

Monet ignores his words, and flies forward again, to drive her fist into Storm's face. As her hand travels though, it must fight against winds which slow it down, and then it strikes the palm of Storm's hand. The Shadow King smiles as electricity is sent coursing through M's body. When the Shadow King releases her, she falls to the ground.

"M!" exclaims Beast from the ground. "Nightcrawler..."

Before a command can be issued, Kurt Darkholme is already gone in an explosion of light, then reappears beside Hank McCoy holding M. He passes her into his massive arms, and he lightly strokes her face.

"C'mon babe..." mutters Hank. "You're okay... you're okay..."

He reaches a large finger over to her neck and begins to move it around. When he feels the soft beating of a pulse, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Is she okay?" asks Dazzler. 

"She'll be fine," replies Beast. He looks up at Storm and Rogue, who have returned to fighting it out, a battle of the storms. "Dazzler, I want you to use as many bright lights as possible to blind Storm."

"What about the contacts?" asks Dazzler.

"We removed them from her eyes when she fell into the coma," he replies. "She's helpless against your powers."

Dazzler nods and concentrates, channeling the noise of the screams from the people, as well as the sound of the thunder, and then bright lights emerge from her hands and begin to strobe around the Shadow King. Despite the fact that he can possess anyone, he is still left to utilize his host body's senses. And not even he can protect himself against the strobe lights created by the Dazzler.

"Cyclops!" exclaims Beast. Scott Summers removes his ruby quartz glasses and then opens his eyes wide. Concussive blasts of energy pour forth from his eyes and strike Storm. The Shadow King falters for a moment, forcing to focus his control on Storm completely.

"You're startin' t' fall below the radar, buddy," says Rogue. Storm glances over to her, and then Rogue extends her hand. The skies open up, and lightning explodes forth, striking Storm from every direction at once. The voltage cannot harm the Shadow King, but it can harm Storm. 

And it does.

The smoking body of Ororo Munroe begins to fall from the sky. Thunderbird breaks into a run towards his falling teammate and leaps into the air. He catches her in his arms, then flips in the air, and lands on his feet with a grunt. The rest of the X-Men soon join him, and Rogue hovers down towards the back of the X-Men. She doesn't notice the man who stands in the shadows.

"Is she okay?" asks Dazzler. Thunderbird looks down at her body and reaches for a pulse. 

"Ow!" he exclaims. "Damn, she's hot!"

He looks at the curious stares from his teammates and frowns at them.

"I meant literally, jackasses."

"But is she okay?" asks Dazzler once more. Thunderbird moves his hand to her neck and presses his fingers against the mocha-colored flesh. He feels around for a few minutes, and looks up at Beast.

"Umm... am I doing this right?" he asks. "I'm not feeling anything."

Nightcrawler places his fingers on Storm's neck and tries to feel around. He then looks up at Thunderbird.

"I'm sorry..." he says.

"Sorry for what?" asks John.

"She's dead," replies Nightcrawler. John stares at him with an open mouth as do the other X-Men.

"...come again?" asks Thunderbird.

"She's dead..." Nightcrawler repeats.

The X-Men all lower their heads. Rogue does as well, staying back from the group. Then, she notices a pair of glowing red eyes in the darkness. She approaches, and something small explodes in front of her in midair.

"What the hell?!" she exclaims.

"BITCH!" exclaims Gambit as he leaps from the shadows and drives his foot into Rogue's face. "YOU KILLED HER!!"

"I didn't have a choice!" exclaims Rogue as she jumps back. Before she can bring about the winds to defend her, Gambit slams his bo-staff against her body. He grabs her by her shirt and flips her over his head, slamming her to the ground. Then, he walks over towards the X-Men and Storm's lifeless body.

Rogue stands and wipes the blood from her lip. She feels her skin beginning to heat up. She looks down to see that her body is starting to glow...

***BOOM***


	3. Part III: Mutant Mayhem

* * *

  


Issue #27 

"WEAPON X"  
Part III: Mutant Mayhem 

_by Dino Pollard_

* * *

Her name was Marie Darkholme, or Rogue. She was a former member of the mutant terrorist organization called the Brotherhood. She was the daughter of the Brotherhood's founder, Mystique, and, along with her brother, Kurt, she rebelled against the Brotherhood and joined the X-Men. She possessed the mutant ability to absorb the powers and memories of anyone she came into physical contact with. Recently, she had used abilities absorbed from the mutant called Storm in order to kill her.

It would be the last thing Marie Darkholme ever did.

Remy LeBeau was forced to watch as Storm was electrocuted to death by Rogue's lightning bolts. Storm was his protegé. So, in response to her death, Gambit charged Rogue's body with kinetic energy. The result was an explosion which took her life.

It is not something the X-Men were prepared for. Particularly Rogue's brother.

"MURDERER!" exclaims Nightcrawler as he appears behind Gambit in a flash of light. He drives his foot into Gambit's chest, which catches the thief off-guard. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Nightcrawler takes another swing, but Gambit grabs his arm and flips him over onto his back. 

"Back off!" exclaims Gambit. "Ororo wasn't in control of her actions, she didn't deserve to die!"

An optic blast courtesy of Cyclops seperates the two combatants. Beast bounds over to Nightcrawler and holds his teammate back, while Thunderbird holds back Gambit. M, Dazzler, and Cyclops rush to the sidelines.

"Watch his hands, John!" warns Dazzler.

"Don't worry, I'm watcing them," says Thunderbird.

"I'm guessing now's as good a time as any for explanations," says Beast.

"Let's start with you, bright eyes," Thunderbird says to Gambit. "How did you know Storm?"

"I taught her everything she knew," replies Gambit. "An' I know what was controlling her."

"The Shadow King," says M.

Gambit stops struggling against Thunderbird.

"How do you know the Shadow King?" he asks.

"He's taken control of someone close to us," replies Beast. "How do you know him?"

"Feel like I been through this story fifty times..." mutters Gambit. Thunderbird tightens his grip on the thief.

"Then let's go for fifty-one," he says through gritted teeth. "Either that or I tear your arm out of the socket."

"Ah, alright!" says Gambit. "He's my father, y'happy?"

"ARE YOU PEOPLE LISTENING TO THIS?!" exclaims Nightcrawler. "HE KILLED MARIE, AND THE SHADOW KING IS HIS FATHER! WHAT MORE INFORMATION DO YOU NEED?!"

"Well... isn't this a predicament," says Beast.

A bright light appears nearby them. The mutants all shield their eyes from it, and when it fades, eight individuals in black leather are standing in front of them. One of them is very large, and middle aged. He has several weapons strapped to his body as well as short, white hair worn in a crew-cut. His left eye glows as he speaks. Standing behind him is a young man with sunglasses and short, blonde hair. A Native American woman with long, black. A woman with short, white hair. A young Asian woman with short black hair. A young man with a blonde crew cut, goatee, and goggles. And finally, a large man with short, blonde hair and fangs. One the X-Men recognize.

"Sabretooth..." mutters M.

"Alex?!" exclaims Cyclops, noticing his brother among their ranks. 

"Things are about to get a whole lot worse," says the man with white hair. "Say hello to your replacements."

* * *

"Looks like the ZERO transport works," says Colonel John Wraith. "Good work, Dr. Lang."

"Thank you, sir," replies Dr. Stephen Lang. 

"Now we just need to await Commander Dayspring's news that—urgh!" 

"Colonel Wraith?" asks Lang. "Are you okay?"

**_Hello, Colonel._**

"Y-yeah... I'm fine, Lang," replies Wraith.

**_Phase one is complete, I take it?_**

_"Yeah... Weapon X just went to take out the X-Men," _replies Wraith through the telepathic link established by the Shadow King.

**_Very nice, Colonel. Continue to serve me, and I can guarantee that you shall become the next Director of SHIELD._**

_"What about Fury?"_

**_Fury is nothing more than a loose end that I will tie up. You need not concern yourself with him._**

_"But what happens when the President finds out that I released Weapon X without his knowledge?_"

**_Leave the sniveling little daddy's boy to me. Just ensure that you have the X-Men in custody._**

_"Right... no problem."_

With that, Wraith's headache passes as the Shadow King leaves his mind. He shakes his head and looks over at Dr. Lang, who watches him with curiosity.

"I'm fine," he repeats.

"You're the boss," says Lang.

* * *

When Kitty Pryde agreed to Colonel Nick Fury's job offer, she had expected to become a full-fledged secret agent. Instead, she is left running diagnostic tests on Cerebro, the X-Men's mutant locating computer. She sighs as she continues the boring work. The door opens, and she turns to see Fury standing there.

"When do I get to do something beyond diagnostics?" she asks.

"Don't ask me," replies Fury. "I'm not in charge."

"Coulda fooled me..." she mutters. "Who is, then?"

"I am."

Kitty watches as a bald man in a wheelchair enters the room. Fury stands behind him as he moves towards Kitty.

"I don't believe we've met," he says with a warm voice. He extends his hand. "I am Professor Charles Xavier, the head of Project: X-MEN. You are Kitty Pryde, correct?"

"Yeah..." she replies, slowly taking his hand. "Why?"

"I'm just trying to get acquainted with the newest member of the team," says Xavier.

"Ah!" she exclaims, pulling her hand away. "Your hand's like ice!"

"My apologies," he says.

"Where are the others?" she asks.

Xavier and Fury both look at each other, and then Fury offers a reply.

"They're no longer with us," he says.

"What do you mean?" asks Kitty.

"They've switched sides," replies Xavier. "Unfortunately."

"Okay..." she says. "That doesn't sound quite right..."

"Ms. Pryde, I'd prefer it if you did not challenge my authority," says Xavier.

"No problem there," says Kitty. "No challenging going on here whatsoever."

"Good," he says. "Now then, be sure Cerebro is fully operational. I look forward to locating more mutants for our cause."

"Right," says Kitty. "No problems there."

She waits for Fury and Xavier to exit the room. Once the door closes, she concentrates and begins to float into the air, through the ceiling. In the floor above is the medical bay, where Jean Grey lays in a coma. Kitty's form becomes solid, and her feet touch the ground. She walks over to Jean's body and looks down at her.

"Man, am _I _out of the loop..." she mutters. 

* * *

"What's the meaning of this?" asks Beast.

The white haired man lowers his gun, but doesn't holster it. He steps forward, and the rest of Weapon X prepares to leap into an attack.

"Commander Nathan Dayspring at your service," he says. "Or Cable if you prefer codenames. We're Weapon X, and it's our job to bring you in."

"Think again, pal," says Thunderbird. "We're government agents, blinky."

"So are we," says Cable. "And after Storm's rebellion, we've been ordered to bring you in."

"This is complete bullshit!" exclaims Cyclops. "Alex, what the fuck are you do—"

"Oh shut up, Scotty," replies Alex as he unleashes a plasma blast from his hands at his brother. Cyclops is sent flying from the impact. "And by the way, the name's Havok."

"The way I see it, you have a choice," says Cable. "You can either come quietly, or be taken."

"Well, it looks like you two got t'ings y' need to settle," says Gambit. "An' seeing as how I'm not an X-Man, guess that means I'll be on my wa—"

Before Gambit can move, the legs of the young man known as Cannonball explode, propelling him straight into the Cajun thief.

"You're not going anywhere, pal," says Cannonball, and drives a kinetically-fueled punch at Gambit. Remy falls to the ground, stands and wipes some blood from his lip. He reaches into his trench coat and pulls out three plastic-coated Bicycle playing cards. With a thought, the cards begin to glow as Gambit charges them with kinetic energy. 

"THAT TEARS IT!" he exclaims as he hurls the cards. 

Sabretooth moves to the front of the group, dodging past the cards, and then leaps forward.

"We tried it yer way, Cable," he says. "Now all bets are off!"

His claws seem to shine in the light as he slashes at Gambit. Before Sabretooth's claws can reach him, M bodyslams into him. 

"I haven't forgotten about our last encounter," she says.

"Ya wanna go for round two?" asks Sabretooth with a grin. "Yer funeral, babe."

Sabretooth moves towards her and slashes. M narrowly avoids the attack, flying back in retreat.

"You're the leader, Hank," says Dazzler. "What do we do?" 

"What you think I know what I'm doing?" asks Beast. "I'm just making this up as I go along!"

"Fan out!" orders Cable, and the Weapon X agents all scatter from his position to combat the X-Men.

* * *

_"She's cute."_

"Guess so."

_"What's her name?"_

"Mariko."

He sees the image of Mariko Yashida, the woman he loves before him. Her form begins to change shape. Her long, black hair shortens and becomes red. Her Asian features become Caucasian. Her brown eyes become green. Now, she has become a completely different person.

"Jean?"

_"We've got a problem, Logan."_

"What's happening?"

_"I don't have much time left. I was only able to break free long enough to make contact with you, and it won't be long before he reasserts control over me."_

"What are you talking about?" asks Logan. "Who?"

_"He's worried about me, now. He's prevented me from using his name. I can't speak it, but you just need to realize that the Professor is under someone else's control."_

"Who's control?"

_"What part of, 'he's prevented me from using his name' did you _not _understand? Just trust me on this. When you get back to the mansion, you need to get out of there quickly."_

"...okay."

_"And get Kitty out of there. I didn't have a chance to make contact with her."_

"Who's Kitty?"

* * *

Logan's eyes snap open, and he shakes his head. 

"You okay, sir?" asks the SHIELD operative who pilots the chopper.

"Yeah..." mutters Logan. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and sits up in his seat. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Don't worry, sir," says the pilot. "We'll have you back home in a few moments."

Logan looks out the window and in the distance he can see the grounds of the Xavier University. His home. The base of the X-Men. And he wonders just how much things have gone to hell in his absence.

"Good."

* * *

Thunderbird cracks his knuckles and faces off against a slender woman with short, white hair. He smirks when he sees her stand with her hands on her hips.

"This is rich," says John. "What do they call you, honey?"

The woman cracks a smile.

"Northstar."

"Well, _Northstar_, I'm about to show you why they call me Thunderbird," he says as he rushes towards her with superhuman speed. He swings his fist, prepared to bring it down on her, but instead, he hits air.

"Huh?"

"You want to try that again?"

Thunderbird glances up and sees Northstar hovering above him. She smirks and seems to vanish. In reality, she moves faster than the eye can see. Thunderbird does not have an opportunity to react. Instead, he feels her fist striking him at every direction at once. He thinks that a woman her size should not be able to hurt a man his size. Unless she has superhuman strength. Or is there something else?

* * *

The young, Asian woman called Meltdown lifts up a finger. Firecrackers seem to explode from the tip as she stands before the Dazzler.

"So... you're Alison Blaire," she says. "Y'know, I've been wanting to do this ever since they started overplaying your damn 'music' on the radio."

Meltdown's hand flies forward and firecrackers explode from her fingertips. The Dazzler does her best to try and avoid the sparks. The _crack_ and _pop _sounds they make fuel Ali's ability to transform sound into light. The sound waves channel through her body, and when they exit her hands, they exit as powerful light bursts. Meltdown nimbly avoids the blast, however, and rushes forward. As she does so, she brings her leg up and strikes Dazzler with it.

"Pop stars," says Meltdown. "Pfft, pathetic."

* * *

"Don't you people get it?" asks Cannonball as he rockets into Gambit. "You can't beat us! It's impossible!"

"Guess I'm just stubborn, then..." mutters Gambit. He draws a card and tries to charge it. However, nothing happens. "What's going on?"

"Call it a secret weapon," says Cannonball. He pulls his fist back and surrounds it with a kinetic field. Then, he delivers an uppercut that sends Gambit flying off the island and into the bay.

* * *

M tries to strike at Sabretooth with one fist, but he grabs it. She tries again with the other, and he grabs that one as well, then headbutts her. She falls back and he kicks her. Before she can fall, he lashes out with his claws and slices into her abdomen. He turns and licks the blood from his claws.

"Looks like the outcome's still the same."

* * *

The young, Native American woman pulls back the invisible string of her psionic bow, and a psionic arrow flies from it. Beast avoids the first one. He uses his agility to move past all the arrows she fires. Then, without warning, he stops and his eyes grow wide with fear. He sees a mother clutching her son's hand.

_"Mommy, mommy, lookit the funny monkey man!"_

"What...?" asks Beast. "What's happening?"

He reaches out and sees that he's surrounded by bars of some sort. He sees people pointing at him and laughing. He hears them chant freak and animal. Some throw things at him. Others make faces.

"No..." he says. "No, I'm not an animal... I don't belong here... I graduated top of my class, I was accepted to schools all over the country. I'm a genius. I'm—AH!"

He cries out as one of the psionic arrows strike his back. The woman called Mirage stands over his prone form.

* * *

The visor of Scott Summers opens the full length to emit a powerful concussive blast of crimson energy. His brother, Alex, provides a backstop to the optic blast with his own plasma blasts. Both of them stop.

"What the hell are you doing, Alex?" asks Scott.

"The name's Havok," replies Alex. "And I'm doing my duty. You crossed the line, Scotty. I've gotta bring you in."

"You don't believe that garbage, do you?"

"Yeah, I do," replies Havok. 

"Don't make me hurt you, bro," warns Cyclops.

"Go ahead."

He moves the lever on the side of his visor and it opens up once more. This time, however, no blast comes forth. 

"That's... not supposed to happen..." mutters Scott. A plasma blast from Havok knocks him out cold.

"Yes it is," he says. "We've covered all the stops, bro."

* * *

Nightcrawler appears behind Cable in a flash of light. However, before the young mutant has the chance to strike, Cable's cybernetic arm grabs Nightcrawler's wrist and flips him over. Cable places his foot on Nightcrawler's chest and pins him to the ground, then aims his gun.

"At this range, I can't miss," he warns. "So don't move."

Nightcrawler grins slightly and tries to use his mutant ability to teleport. Yet, to his surprise, he finds that he cannot use his powers anymore. His smile quickly fades, and one crosses Cable's face.

"You X-Men don't get it, do you?" asks Cable. "This was all planned out."

He lifts up Nightcrawler with his cybernetic arm and holsters his gun. The rest of Weapon X bring their captives to him as well. Aside from Cannonball, who lands empty-handed.

"Where's the Cajun?" asks Cable.

"Dunno," replies Cannonball.

"What do you mean you don't know?" asks Cable.

"I hit him, and he flew into the bay," replies Cannonball. "After that, I lost him. I searched, but no luck."

"Dammit..." mutters Cable. He speaks into his headset. "ZERO transport, thirteen passengers. Destination: home."

In a flash of light, the X-Men and Weapon X vanish.


	4. Part IV: Captives

* * *

  


Issue #28 

"WEAPON X"  
Part IV: Captives 

_by Dino Pollard_

* * *

His name is Colonel Nick Fury. He is a decorated war hero, as well as the Director of SHIELD. His accomplishments are many. And many of them remain a secret from the public. He has been many things in his life. But he has never been a puppet.

Until now.

As he enters the study of Professor Charles Xavier, he does not fully realize that he, like Xavier, is under the thrall of another. A being of immense psionic energy. A being who calls himself the Shadow King. This Shadow King has possessed Xavier's body for some period of time, the extent of which is unknown. 

"The transport carrying Wolverine has arrived," says Fury.

**_"Unfortunate..." _**replies the Shadow King.

"Why?"

**_"Wolverine's skeleton is laced with adamantium," _**replies the Shadow King. **_"It acts as a barrier to psionic abilities. Possessing him is a task which would require too much energy at this point. I must keep my priorities straight, Colonel."_**

"Then what do we do?" asks Fury.

**_"We simply inform our dear friend Logan that the X-Men have betrayed SHIELD. Like any good soldier, he will offer his services to bring them down."_**

"Understood," says Fury. "We should probably go meet him, then."

* * *

"Something's seriously fucked up here..." mutters Kitty Pryde. She looks down at the motionless body of Jean Grey, hoping for some sort of sign from the unconscious mutant. Something that could help her understand what is going on around here.

"Don't believe we've met."

Kitty almost jumps in surprise when she hears the new voice. She turns to see a man walking towards her. His face is unshaven and his hair is wild. Yet he wears the X-Men's uniform.

"Who are you?" she asks.

"You must be Kitty," he replies. "I'm Logan."

"Oh," says Kitty. "Yeah, I heard about you."

"Nice to be known," says Logan.

"Ah, Wolverine, so good to have you back with us."

Logan sniffs the air and detects the scents of Fury and Xavier. 

"Surprised to see you up an' about, Chuck," says Logan. He looks down at Jean's body. "What happened to Psyche?"

"She was able to bring me out of my coma," replies Xavier. "Unfortunately, it looks like she fell into one herself."

"How d'ya explain that?" asks Logan.

"My comatose state was... a defensive mechanism, I suppose," replies Xavier. "In order to deal with the trauma of killing Mystique, my mind forced me into the coma. Jean tried her best to revive me, but I guess that her inexperience with her own psychic abilities forced her into a similar state."

"Then why don't you bring her out?" asks Logan. "After all, she was able to bring you out, an' since you're more powerful than she is, it should be a walk in the park."

"And it would be, if I were at full strength," replies Xavier. "But my trauma has left me weakened. It may take some time before I'm able to attempt a psychic rescue of any sort."

"How'd your mission go?" asks Fury.

"Like always, complete success," replies Logan. 

"Good work," says Fury. 

"Things seemed pretty quiet when I got in," says Logan. "Where's the rest of the team?"

Fury and Xavier both look at each other. Xavier lowers his head slightly before speaking.

"Logan... the X-Men..." he begins. "They've gone rogue."

"What?"

"Damndest thing," says Fury. "Storm turned up out of nowhere and started tearing apart the city. We ordered the X-Men to stop her, but they didn't want to go against their friend. So they joined her."

"That sounds pretty far fetched," says Logan.

"I know you feel betrayed, Logan," says Xavier. "But we have to pick up the pieces. I just received word that the X-Men have been apprehended."

"By who?" asks Logan.

"Weapon X," replies Xavier. Logan looks Xavier in the eyes, and then looks to Fury. He sees no change in Fury's composure.

"Y' don't say..." he mutters.

* * *

"Uhhh... what hit me...?"

"Same thing that hit all of us, babe," replies John Proudstar. "Weapon X."

"Where are we?" asks Alison Blaire. She sits up and finds that she's lying on a bunk of some sort. She sees John sitting across from her on another bunk, his arms folded across his chest. She also notices that they're in a holding cell of some sort.

"Dunno," replies John. "Last thing I remember was fighting that chick, then I wake up here. You see anything?"

"Nothing," says Ali.

"Great," says John.

* * *

"I don't like this," says Kurt Wagner.

"You and me both," says Scott Summers. "Now keep it down, will ya?"

"How can you sleep at a time like this?" asks Kurt. "We've been kidnapped."

"Yeah, and I'm still dead tired from it," replies Scott. "So keep it down. We'll find a way out. In the meantime, just be cool."

"Be cool?" asks Kurt. "How can I be cool, my sister is dead!"

"And my brother is working for the enemy," replies Scott. "How do you think I feel?"

"Then how can you be so calm?" asks Kurt.

"Just in my nature, I suppose," replies Scott. "If I was one of those uptight guys, I'd have to shoot myself."

"We have to find a way out of here," says Kurt.

"Wolverine's still out there," says Scott.

"So?"

"So, these guys are called Weapon X, right?"

"Right..."

"I remember Logan once mentioning that he was held prisoner by these assholes," says Scott. "So once he finds out that they've captured us, he's gonna come after them. And I'm guessing that he'll want some payback."

* * *

"I should never have come..." says Monet St. Croix.

"What do you mean?" asks Hank McCoy.

"I should never have come to New York," replies Monet. "I should have refused Xavier's offer and just stayed in Florida."

"You don't mean that," says Hank.

"Yes I do, Hank," she says. "I lived a perfect life there. I was rich, beautiful, and powerful. I had everything I ever wanted."

"Then why did you join the X-Men?" asks Hank.

"Truthfully, I don't know," replies Monet. "Boredom, maybe."

"Boredom?"

"Being rich has its perks, but it can also make for a pretty uneventful existence," she replies. "I wanted excitement in my life. But looking back, I think this may have been too much excitement. At first, it was fun. Working for the government, taking out mutant terrorists. But it's gotten way too serious. Jean is in a coma, Xavier's been possessed, and Storm and Rogue are dead. This is too much for me."

Hank moves from his bunk over to hers and places his hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay," he says. 

"How can you say that?"

"Everything will work out for the best, trust me."

"Henry, look around you," she says. "This isn't the movies, this is reality. We're in deep shit, here."

"I don't think I've ever heard you swear," he says with a slight chuckle.

"This isn't funny," she says, shooting him an angry glare.

"I'm sorry," says Hank. 

"I always act so calm and collected, like nothing can phase me," says Monet. "But... it's just a cover."

She looks into his eyes.

"I'm scared, Hank."

"I know," he says, wrapping his arms around her. "I am, too."

* * *

Colonel John Wraith steps into the Oval Office with Henry Peter Gyrich and Bolivar Trask by his side. The President stands from his seat and greets them once they enter.

"Gentlemen," he says. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. Please, sit."

He motions to the couches that sit before the desk, and then he moves over to one of them and takes a seat across from his three guests, the only thing that seperates them being a glass coffee table. All of them seem extremely confident, not at all worried about this meeting, or the possible ramifications of their actions.

"I suppose you want to discuss the... incident on Liberty Island," says Gyrich.

"Incident?" asks the President. "That's a nice way of putting it."

He picks up a remote from the table and uses it to turn on the television set that sits in the wall. On it is footage of the X-Men's battle with Weapon X on Liberty Island.

"Would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on here?" asks the President.

"Exactly what you wanted, sir," replies Gyrich. 

"This looks like two mutant groups duking it out," says Bush. "I did _not _authorize the use of Weapon X, I authorized the use of Sentinels."

"But Mr. President, the Sentinels _were _there," says Trask.

"Then why don't I see them, Mr. Trask?"

"Because you _can't _see them," replies Trask. "Not without a microscope, anyway."

"What do you mean?" asks Bush. "Project: SENTINEL was supposed to involve the use of mutant hunting robots."

"We've gone one step better, Mr. President," says Trask. "The latest in nano-technology has allowed us to create miniature Sentinels, virtually invisible to the naked eye. They enter a mutant's body through any orifice, and neutralize the x-gene, rendering the victim powerless. In short, Project: SENTINEL is basically a mutant virus."

"With the Sentinels rendering the X-Men powerless, that made it relatively easy for Weapon X to capture them," says Gyrich.

"And that's where I come in, sir," says Wraith. 

"I specifically said I wanted to be fully debriefed on Weapon X before I authorized it," says Bush.

"Yes, I know," says Wraith. 

"How could you release Weapon X without authorization?" asks Bush.

"Special Executive Order 768-04," replies Wraith. 

"What's that?" asks Bush.

"It states that in matters of national security, SHIELD is authorized to go over your head, Mr. President," replies Wraith. "And this was a matter of national security."

Wraith reaches into his pocket and pulls out a CD jewel case. He takes out a compact disc from it and walks over to the television.

"You wanted a debriefing on Weapon X?" asks Wraith. "Well, you're about to get it."

He places the disc inside the DVD tray and hits play.

* * *

"I can't believe we lost him again..." mutters Shard.

"Who's idea was it to let him walk?" asks Bishop.

"Shove it," she says.

"Now, we have two dead mutants on our hands, as well as a bunch of others missing," says Bishop. A ringing noise emits from inside his coat. He reaches inside his breast pocket, pulls out a cell phone, and places it to his ear. "This is Bishop."

He listens to the man on the other end speak.

"We'll be right there," he says, then hangs up. He looks over at Shard. "Good news, they found our man."

"What?" asks Shard. "Where?"

"They just fished him out of the bay," replies Bishop.

* * *

Kitty Pryde sleeps peacefully. Her dreams are pointless ramble. Some of them involve a mixture of her new life with the X-Men, as well as with her past life at Empire State University. She is awakened from her slumber by a hand that covers her mouth. She opens her eyes in shock to see Logan standing before her.

"Shh," he says, placing a finger to his lips. "I gotta get you outta here."

"What's going on?" she asks.

"I'll explain later," he says. "Right now, we gotta go."

"What's this all about?" 

"Let's just say that Xavier's not himself," he says. "Now hurry up, we gotta go."

* * *

"Here we go," says Wraith, offering the narration for the presentation. The first man who appears onscreen is a large man with short, blonde hair as well as razor-sharp claws.

"First off, we've got Victor Creed, also called Sabretooth," says Wraith. "He's a veteran of Weapon X, been with us ever since 'Nam. He's got a healing factor and heightened senses, similar to Wolverine's, but stronger. He's also got razor-sharp claws on each hand, and his bones have recently undergone the adamantium bonding procedure."

The next man who appears is younger, about high school age. He has short, blonde hair and wears sunglasses.

"This is Alex Summers, or Havok," says Wraith. "Younger brother of Cyclops. He absorbs ambient cosmic waves and rechannels them as powerful plasma blasts."

Next is a young man, a little older than Havok, with very short blonde hair and a goatee to match. He also wears goggles of some sort over his eyes.

"Samuel Guthrie, Cannonball," says Wraith. "He can generate a kinetic forcefield around his body which he can use to propel himself through the air at incredible speeds. While the forcefield is active, nothing can harm him."

A young, Asian woman with short black hair appears on the screen.

"This is Jubilation Lee, or Meltdown," says Wraith. "She can generate powerful pyrotechnic energy blasts that resemble fireworks."

A young, Native American woman with long black hair appears next.

"Here we have Danielle Moonstar, also known as Mirage," says Wraith. "She has powerful psionic abilities that allow her to project holographic images of thoughts from a person's mind, primarily their worst fear. She can also create weapons out of psionic energy that disrupt a victim's neurochemistry."

The next person to appear on the screen is a young, Caucasian woman with short, white hair.

"This is Jeanne Marie Beaubier or Northstar," says Wraith. "She possesses the abilities of superhuman speed and flight. In addition, her mind is slightly fragmated, and she suffers from multiple personality disorder. The other persona is a male, Jean Paul Beaubier, whom she claims is her brother."

"How can one personality be male if she's female?" asks Bush.

"Because she's male as well," replies Wraith.

"...I'm sorry?" asks Bush.

"Northstar is a hermaphrodite," replies Wraith.

"...oh," mutters Bush. "Now how do you plan to keep these mutants under control, Colonel?"

"Simple," says Wraith. The next image to appear is that of a large man with white hair, a glowing left eye, and a left arm composed of metal.

"This is Commander Nathan Dayspring," says Wraith. "Like Sabretooth, he is a Vietnam vet, and a decorated SHIELD agent. His body is lined with cybernetic parts that enhance his natural abilities, including his cybernetic eye which makes him a crack shot. Unlike Wolverine, Dayspring is not a mutant, so his loyalty is to his country. His codename is Cable, implying the link between the human government and the mutant strike force."

The screen turns black.

"Now, Mr. President," says Wraith. "Let's talk."

* * *

"Man, what a bum job this is..." mutters one of the security guards.

"Why do you say that?" asks the other.

"C'mon, you can't tell me that this job doesn't suck. We're stuck here guarding a door that we have no fucking clue what's on the other side of. You'd think we'd at least know."

"Times like this, I'm reminded of the old saying that seems to apply to everything nowadays."

"What would that be?"

"Don't ask, don't tell."

"I think that's bullshit, we should know what's so important that we gotta be risking our lives for."

"Right, like we're really risking our lives here. It's probably just a bunch of government files or some bullshit like that. Not like we've got a living weapon behind this door."

"Yeah, I guess you're ri—"

"Wait..." says one of them, lifting up his gun. "Did you hear that?"

"No... why?"

"There it is again!"

"It sounds like it's coming from... inside?"

The banging noise continues. Both the guards move closer to the door, and then, they hear it begin to tear from the wall. They both move to the sides as the door rockets forth as if it were blown off its hinges. They both bring up their guns and step up to the now-open doorway. Their guns are pulled from their hands and flipped around so that they are now floating in mid-air and aimed directly at the guards. Invisible fingers squeeze the triggers, and a bullet travels through each guard's head.

A figure hovers past the two dead sentries, and the base which has been his prison for a long amount of time is torn open as if it were paper. He wears an outfit made of leather, with a flowing red cap and a helmet. He begins to rise forth into the sky. He deeply breathes in the fresh air. He smells freedom in the air, and laughs.

Magneto is back.


	5. Part V: The Master of Magnetism

**Heroes  
Knights  
X-Men  
Ultimate**   
  
  
  
#29 

**APR 03**

**"WEAPON X  
Part V: The Master of Magnetism  
****_by Dino Pollard_**

  


The shock of the black, Mercedes Benz coming to a stop snaps Kitty Pryde out of her sleep. Her eyelids slide open, and she looks over to the driver. His name is Logan, or Wolverine. He's supposedly the leader of a team she's supposedly a part of. They only just met an hour ago, however. She brings her seat to an upright position and rubs her eyes.

"Where are we?" she asks.

"A diner," replies Logan.

"Good, I'm starting to get a little hungry."

"Let's go grab a table, then," he says. "He's supposed to meet us inside anyway."

"Okay," she says. She opens the door, but before she steps out, she briefly recalls Logan's last sentence. She turns to the driver side.

"What do you mea—?"

The driver's seat is empty and the door is closed. 

"You comin' or what?"

She looks over her shoulder with a startle to see Logan standing behind her.

"Don't do that," she says.

"C'mon."

She climbs out of the car and the two walk into a diner. They take a seat at a booth in the far corner of the restaurant, and Kitty cannot help but constantly throw her eyes from side to side. The past few days have been somewhat... strange to say the least. Jean falling into a coma, Storm and the X-Men turning to terrorism, and now, this Logan guy dragging her out of the mansion late at night. Now here they are at sitting at some diner off of the interstate. 

"Okay, you mind telling me just what the hell is going on here?" she asks.

"Wait, I don't feel like telling the story twice."

"Why do you have to tell it twice?" she asks. "Who are we meeting here anyway?"

"See the guy who just walked in the door?" asks Logan. Kitty turns around in the booth and sees a tall, well-built bald black man with a goatee and a trench coat over a suit. He locks eyes with Kitty for a brief second, and looks past her to see Logan. He offers a slight grin and then walks over to the booth. Logan stands as he approaches and shakes the man's hand.

"Hello Logan," he says.

"Bishop," says Logan. "Been awhile."

"Too long."

"Have a seat."

Wolverine slides back into the booth and Bishop sits next to Kitty.

"Kitty Pryde, meet Special Agent Luther Bishop," says Logan. 

"Special Agent?" asks Kitty. "What are you a special agent of?"

"FBI," replies Bishop. "Paranormal investigations."

"Where's Scully?" asks Kitty with a slight chuckle.

"Actually, her name's Shard," replies Bishop. "She's at the hospital with this guy."

He reaches into his coat and pulls out an envelope and drops it on the table. Logan opens it up and looks at the photographs. They depict a young man, early twenties, with short hair and strange eyes.

"His name's Remy LeBeau, a world renowned thief," says Bishop.

"How come I've never heard of him?" asks Logan.

"You have," replies Bishop. "Gambit."

"Ahh..." says Logan. "What's he got to do with PI?"

"He has links to the Guild," says Bishop. "Or had."

"What do you mean had?"

"The Guild has been decimated," says Bishop. "They're all dead."

"Okay, stop!" exclaims Kitty. "You guys are starting to give me a headache. Can someone please just tell me what the fuck is going on?!"

Logan reaches into his leather jacket and pulls out a cigar. He flips open a silver Zippo lighter and ignites the rolled tobacco leaves. He gives the cigar a few puffs, then removes it from his mouth and begins to speak.

"It's like this," he says. "That mutant strike force Xavier is heading up? Well, something's not kosher. Xavier's been possessed by someone who calls himself the Shadow King."

"You've run into him, too?" asks Bishop.

"What do you mean?" asks Logan.

"Gambit claims that the Shadow King is responsible for the deaths of the Guild members," replies Bishop. "And he also says that he's the bastard's son."

"It gets better," says Logan. "He's possessed Xavier and I got a strong feeling he's also got Fury, too. He's labeled the X-Men as terrorists, and Weapon X is involved."

"Impossible," says Bishop.

"Nope."

"Weapon X has been out of commission for years, Logan—remember?"

"Of course I remember."

"Remember what?" asks Kitty.

"Weapon X is a top secret black ops program," begins Logan. "I was recruited directly out of the Vietnam War. It was run by the Canadian government and it was Weapon X that did this to me."

Three foot-long adamantium claws extend from between his knuckles, and Kitty is taken aback by the sight. With a thought, the claws quickly retract into his arm.

"We had to run a lot of hairy capers," says Logan. "Assassinations, rebel uprisings, that sort of thing."

"In the eighties, I had just started out with the FBI's paranormal investigations unit at the time," says Bishop. "Back then, mutants weren't as widespread as they are now, and I was investigating a mutant sighting in upstate New York. It was then that I ran into Logan."

"We were both after the same mutant," says Logan. "Only difference is Bishop wanted him alive, and Weapon X wanted him dead. So we worked together. We found out why Weapon X wanted him dead—because he discovered some stuff about them we didn't know."

"How is Wyngarde anyway?" asks Bishop.

"Dead," replies Logan. "Creed."

"I thought he was dead."

"So did Wyngarde."

"So... Wyngarde was this mutant who Weapon X wanted dead?" asks Kitty.

"Yeah," replies Logan. "He used to work for them. It was then I started to realize what I was really involved with. So, with the help of Bishop and Wyngarde, I got out. But I wanted to take Weapon X with me."

"What do you mean?" asks Kitty.

"I blew up the complex," replies Logan. "Killed everyone inside."

"Exactly," says Bishop. "So how is Weapon X involved now?"

"I ran into Creed awhile back and we tangled," says Logan. "He said he was back with the project. And now there's a replacement mutant strike force in place called Weapon X."

"So what does this all mean?" asks Kitty.

"It means that somehow, this is all tied together," says Bishop. "And it all seems to come back to this Shadow King character."

"He's pulling strings," says Logan. 

"If so, then Gambit seems like our one chance to stop him," says Bishop. "The Shadow King hasn't possessed or killed him yet, so maybe that's because he can't."

"So you take us to Gambit, and we take him to Xavier," says Kitty. "Seems like a good plan to m—"

"Hold on," says Bishop. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ringing cell phone. He checks the number on the display before answering. "What's up, Shard? What? How? Okay... yeah. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Bishop turns off the phone and places it back in his pocket.

"Is there any chance that we have a Plan B?" he asks.

"No, why?" asks Logan.

"Because Gambit's dead."

* * *

The ringing phone is silenced by the bald man with a thin moustache who answers it. 

"Wraith," he says. As he listens to the person on the other end of the line speak, his eyes begin to grow wide and he sits down in his chair.

"...can you run that by me again?"

* * *

Cannonball is sent ricocheting into the oncoming soldiers.

Northstar charges forward at breakneck speed. A metal door flies towards her at the same speed, which cleaves her body in two.

The flow of iron to Mirage's brain is stopped, and she dies instantly.

Havok and Meltdown are the only two members of Weapon X who remain standing. Magneto hovers before them with his arms folded, and Meltdown simply smiles.

"How'd we do, boss?"

Magneto nods and then begins to hover towards the ceiling. It tears open as he approaches it, leaving Havok and Meltdown along with Stephen Lang.

* * *

"What do you mean Magneto's escaped?!" exclaims Wraith. "He's in a fucking coma, there's no possible way he could have woken... up..."

Wraith is silenced as the floor of his office is torn open and Magneto rises up through the gaping hole.

"...I'll call you back..."

He hangs up the phone and smiles awkwardly at the man who is in front of him. 

"Well... it's certainly nice to see you back on your feet again," he says. "Now then... about..."

The paperclips on Wraith's desk rise into the air and begin linking together. They quickly tighten around his throat like a noose and lift him into the air. He begins gagging for breath, when the stapler rises from his desk and hovers right before his eyes...

* * *

"This is nuts," says Kitty as she follows Logan and Bishop towards the hospital entrance. "What are we gonna do now?"

"Dunno," says Logan. "But obviously, the Shadow King got to Gambit before we could."

"Embolism in the brain, sounds like the Shadow King's territory," says Bishop. "The only question is, what now?"

"Stop..." says Logan.

"What is it?" asks Bishop.

*SNIKT*

"Creed," replies Logan.

* * *

"...what is that?" asks John.

"An alarm," says Ali. "Do you think it could be Wolverine?"

"I dunno..."

"Maybe he's come to bust us out, right?"

"Quiet..." says John. "I can hear the guards running and..."

"What?"

"...nothing, they just stopped in their tracks."

*BRATATATATATATTATATATA*

"...I don't think that sounds good..." says Ali. John hears the door beginning to strain and he steps back from it. He puts his arm in front of Ali and forces her behind him. The door flies off its hinges, and the walls seperating the X-Men from each other tear open. Magneto floats in the air before them.

"...can this day get any worse?" asks John.

Magneto concentrates and the X-Men all begin to cough and sneeze without warning. Once they stop, he lowers himself to the ground and removes his helmet.

"Your mutant powers are no longer inhibited," says Magneto.

"How?" asks Monet. "What did you do?"

"Sentinels," replies Magneto. Small, microscopic nanomachines that feed on your x-gene."

"I thought Sentinels were giant robots or something," says Scott.

"Prototypes," says Magneto. "The final versions are nanomachines which enter a mutant's body and then begin to feast on the x-gene. Luckily for you, the Sentinels had only recently entered your bodies. Given another day or do and your powers would be rendered permanently useless, and then your bodies would begin to deteriorate without the x-gene."

"What's going on here?" asks Hank. "Why are you helping us?"

"The Shadow King," replies Magneto.

"What about him?" asks Hank.

"Years ago, I worked with Charles Xavier and Raven Darkholme in the mutant rights movement," begins Magneto. "Xavier came in contact with a being of immense psionic energy called the Shadow King. He offered us power to rule over humans if we simply helped him with his cause. We refused, and that is when the problems started. Xavier lost his position at Harvard, my family was killed by mutant-hating humans. As a result of these things, the ideaologies of Xavier and myself frequently clashed. Raven could take no more and she left. Xavier and I parted ways, and it wasn't until later that I discovered the Shadow King was slowly possessing him, bit by bit. He was also controlling me, forcing me to terrorist attacks. As a result, the government contacted the one man who knew me best, namely Xavier, to find a way to stop me. It was the Shadow King who accepted the offer and brought you all together."

"So you didn't mean to attack all those places?" asks Ali.

"How would terrorist attacks against major cities advance the mutant cause?" asks Magneto. "I'm not insane. The Shadow King incapacitated me rather than killing me because he felt I would be useful to him again in the future. He hadn't counted on my own psychics rebuilding my mind in secret from my base of Avalon. I continued to feign the coma, however, and in that time, I was scanning the information on the computers about Weapon X, the X-Men, and Project: SENTINEL. Once I had compiled all the necessary information, I broke free."

"So now what?" asks Kurt.

Magneto places his helmet back on his head.

"We have to stop the Shadow King before he can cause anymore trouble. In order to do that, we must cut him off from his host."

"How do we do that?" asks Scott.

"Isn't it obvious, Cyclops?" asks Magneto. "We have to kill Xavier."


	6. Part VI: To All Things, An Ending

**Heroes  
Knights  
X-Men  
Ultimate**   
  
  
  
#30 

**APR 03**

**"WEAPON X"  
Part VI: To All Things, An Ending  
****_by Dino Pollard_**

  


One moment, Logan is on his feet. The next, he's kissing pavement as the hand of Victor Creed forces his head into the ground. Wolverine can feel Sabretooth's hot breath on the back of his neck as his opponent slowly brings his mouth down to Logan's ear.

"Startin' t' wonder if you were ever gonna show up, buddy," he says. "But I shoulda known you'd never disappoint your old pal, ain't that right?"

"Get back," Bishop orders Kitty. He takes out his gun and aims it at Sabretooth. "Step away from him, Creed."

Sabretooth looks up and smiles.

"Is that... Bishop?" he asks. "Damn, it's been awhile."

"Don't push my buttons, Creed," replies Bishop. "Not today."

"Y' never were any fu—"

*BLAM*

Sabretooth falls backwards.

"You shot him!" exclaims Kitty.

"I know," says Bishop. He keeps his gun ready and he moves over to Sabretooth. Something is strange... however. The entry wound... it looks like there is barely one. Suddenly, Sabretooth's eyes open.

"Boo," he says. His arm shoots upward and his claws catch Bishop's gun. Bishop pulls back, and sees that the tip of the gun has been sliced off. Sabretooth gets up and his hand moves to his forehead where the bullet struck. He pulls the bullet off his head and tosses it to Bishop. Bishop examines it and sees that it's been crushed by something.

"Guess what, Bish?" asks Sabretooth. "Logan here's not the only one with adamantium bones."

"Oh shit..." mutters Bishop. Sabretooth rushes towards them, and Kitty grabs Bishop's arm. Sabretooth passes right through them, and Kitty grits her teeth in pain as he does.

"What the hell?"

"Wh-what did he do to us?" asks Bishop, clutching his own stomach.

"Dunno... " replies Kitty. "Ugh... that's never happened when I phased before, but for some reason, I could actually feel him passing through us."

"Hey Vic."

Sabretooth turns his attention to Wolverine, who's now on his feet with his face fully healed.

"I owe you for Mastermind."

"Don't worry about yer ol' turncoat friend," says Sabretooth. "Once I'm finished with you, you'll get to meet him again."

"Not if I send you there first."

The two run at each other, and Wolverine brings his claws forward. Sabretooth deflects with his own claws, and drives his free hand into Wolverine's stomach. He tears it open, then he kicks Wolverine's legs out from under him. Logan is about to try and get up, when Sabretooth cuts into his throat. Sabretooth follows it up by driving his foot into Wolverine's head. He starts to approach Bishop and Kitty.

"Let's see what you guys got."

"Okay," says Bishop. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small lighter. He activates the flame and uses it on his hand.

"What are you doing?" asks Kitty.

"This," he replies. He extends his hand forward and an energy blast erupts from his fingers.

* * *

Deep within Area 51, Jubilation Lee and Alex Summers, otherwise known as Meltdown and Havok, stand watch over Dr. Stephen Lang and his ZERO teleportation system. The doors peel open with the sound of metal scraping against metal, and the leader of these two mutants enters. Behind him are the X-Men, somewhat uncomfortable following the man they were brought together to fight.

"Mission accomplished, boss?" asks Meltdown.

"Alex...?" asks Cyclops.

"Don't worry, Scott, everything's cool," replies Havok. "Magneto's followers recruited me after you left, they got to me before Weapon X did."

"Your brother and Meltdown were planted in Weapon X as moles," says Magneto. "And now, I believe the next step is up to Dr. Lang."

"Do you honestly think I'm going to help y—"

Lang was cut off as his body was magnetically lifted into the air.

"You saw what I did to Northstar, Mirage, and Cannonball, doctor—and they were mutants," says Magneto. "Imagine what I would do to an uncooperative human who doesn't know his place on the evolutionary ladder."

"O...okay..."

"You are to use the ZERO transport to send myself and the X-Men to Xavier's," says Magneto. "Do we have an agreement?"

"Y-yeah... whatever you say..." says Lang.

"So, some humans are capable of intelligent thought," says Magneto. "Who knew."

In the darkness, a figure stirs and lifts up a weapon. He takes careful aim, and pulls the trigger. The weapon makes no noise, so the bullet goes unnoticed before it strikes it's mark. The eyes of Monet St. Croix go wide in shock, and then she falls to the ground.

"Monet...?" asks Beast. He looks down at the body of his girlfriend. He stares deep into her open eyes, still filled with that initial shock. But then his eyes are drawn to something else. Specifically the pool of blood beneath her head.

Magneto reaches out and latches onto the weapon that fired the bullet. With but a thought, the assailant is pulled out into the open.

"Nathan Dayspring, I presume," says Magneto. "Or do you prefer Cable?"

"Let me down," orders Cable.

"You're not in any position to make demands, my misguided friend," says Magneto. "I believe you have committed enough atrocities in your lifetime."

"Wh-what are you doing...?" asks Cable.

"What do you think, you little pissant?" asks Magneto. "I'm seperating your cybernetics from your flesh."

"Don't... I'll d—"

Cable's voice is cut off as the cybernetic parts of his body are ripped clean from his flesh. With them being the only thing Magneto latched onto, Cable falls to the ground, his body losing a lot of blood at a rapid rate.

"I'm sorry, what was that you were going to say?" asks Magneto. Cable offers no reply. "Oh well, it probably wasn't important."

He turns to Lang.

"Activate the transport," he says.

"Y-yes sir..." says Lang and he goes to work quickly.

"What about us?" asks Meltdown.

"Stay here," replies Magneto. "Once we are through, destroy the transport."

"And Lang?"

Magneto looks at the doctor, then back to Meltdown.

"He's been cooperative," he says. "Let him live."

* * *

"There's a problem," says Fury.

"I know," replies the Shadow King through Xavier's body. "Wolverine left and he took Pryde, and Magneto liberated the X-Men."

"We've also lost contact with Wraith," says Fury.

"That's because Magneto killed him. But no worries. Gambit is dead and Sabretooth is dealing with Wolverine. Besides, the instant the X-Men and Magneto arrive, I can easily force Magneto to do whatever I wish, just like I did before. I've known about every move Magneto has been making."

"Then why didn't you stop him?"

"To increase his confidence, of course. This is all a game, Colonel. It's fun. The only possible advantage the X-Men could have is a telepath—and I've already ensured that Ms. Grey is out of commission."

"What should I do?"

"Call in SHIELD."

* * *

Bishop's first energy blast took Sabretooth by surprise. Sabretooth easily dodged the second, and before Bishop could fire the third, Sabretooth tackles him to the ground.

"Y'know, once you saw what I did t' Logan over there, you should have played smart and ran away," says Sabretooth. "But I guess no one's ever accused you of havin' much in the brains depart—"

*SNIKT*

"ARGGH!!!" cries out Sabretooth.

"Next time... make sure ya get your rectum laced with adamantium," says Wolverine. He pulls his claws down, slicing through more than just Sabretooth's rear. "An' that's t' ensure that y' don't start breedin'."

Sabretooth falls back and clutches his wounds. He looks up at Wolverine, his claws dripping with blood.

"I expected better from you, Vic," says Logan. "At least a cup."

"I'll kill ya..."

"Promises," says Logan as he drives his claws into Sabretooth's side. He drives the claws as far as possible, reaching underneath the rips. Then, he tears and pulls them out. He doesn't worry about causing a mess.

Logan's claws retract into his hands and he jams his boot on Sabretooth's throat and covers his mouth and nose. Creed begins to gasp for breath, but Wolverine holds his grip. He leaves it there for a few minutes until he feels Sabretooth's pulse begin to slow down. Then, finally, it comes to a stop. Logan stands and spits on the body.

"No matter how well you can heal, you still need to breath," says Logan. He looks at Bishop. "You okay?"

"Yeah..." says Bishop. "How about your friend?"

"Pryde?"

"Yeah, I'm here," she replies.

"Everything cool?"

"Yeah, yeah, I suppose," she says.

"Good," says Logan. "Let's get moving, then. Find your partner, and move from the—"

The sound of helicopters interrupts Logan. They begin to fill the sky, and soldiers drop from them on ropes. They're dressed in SHIELD uniforms, and all of them hold their weapons at Wolverine and Kitty. One man steps through the crowd and smiles at Logan. He wears a black suit, has short red hair, and glasses.

"Knew you'd screw up sooner or later," he says.

"Piss off, Gyrich," says Logan.

"I know that these bullets won't stop you, Logan," says Gyrich. "But your friends over don't have an adamantium skeleton or a healing factor. "So if you want to fight, go ahead and fight. But they'll be the first two taken out."

Logan sighs and lifts his arms. He interlocks his hands behind his head and drops to his knees. Kitty and Bishop follow suit.

* * *

The X-Men and Magneto teleport in front of the Xavier University in Westchester. The Shadow King sits in the body of Xavier waiting by the front entrance, with Fury standing behind him. Once they appear, Xavier approaches them.

"Hello Erik," he says. "My, it's certainly been awhile."

Magneto offers no reply, just hoists Xavier and his wheelchair into the air. The chair begins to slowly wrap around Xavier, and the Shadow King simply laughs. Then... Magneto stops.

"You didn't seriously believe you could kill me, did you?" asks the Shadow King. "Come now, Erik. You are my puppet, remember? Now dance for me."

Magneto stand perfectly still for a few moments. He twitches slightly, and folds his arms across his chest. Then, one by one, he lifts each arm to the back of his neck, then around his waist...

"...is he doing the Macarena?" asks Thunderbird.

"Hahahaha, perfect! Dance monkey, dance!"

"Oh fuck this!" exclaims Cyclops. He fires an optic blast that strikes Xavier and breaks the Shadow King's hold over Magneto briefly.

"Thanks..." says Magneto.

"Yeah, thanks," says Thunderbird. "If I had to watch that for another second, I would've killed myself."

The X-Men and Magneto freeze in their places, and the Shadow King smiles.

"You people are so easy," he says. "You honestly have no idea what you're up against, do you?"

"What now, genius?" asks Thunderbird. "Didn't count on his mind control, did you?"

"Shut up, Proudstar," replies Magneto. 

"My my, dissention in the ranks, Magneto? Well, I can see why. After all, when you first met the X-Men, you were trying to kill them."

"Only because of you..." says Magneto.

"You know, it really is a pity about your children and your wife. Killed like that for no reason."

"Shut up..."

"I killed them for exactly this reason. To make you into what you are today. Everything that has led up to this moment has been carefully orchestrated by me, and me alone. I knew about your plans to defeat me a second before you did. Why do you think I made it so easy for you? Honestly, the arrogance of you people..."

"...hey, you guys see what I see?" asks Nightcrawler.

"It's the sky," replies Dazzler. "It's getting... brighter."

"That's an understatement," says Nightcrawler. "It looks like the damn thing's... I mean, it can't be but..."

"The sky's on fire," says Beast. "I know.

"Eh?"

The Shadow King looks up to the skies, and the flames building up in the sky rocket down into the mansion. 

Then, the mansion itself explodes.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS—"

Before Thunderbird can finish his sentence, he sees his teammate, Jean Grey, hovering in the air before them. Surrounded by flames. Even her hair appeared to be on fire, and her eyes glowed brightly.

"Okay... that's new..." says Cyclops.

"Shadow King!" exclaims Jean.

"What is this?"

"I'm hurt to see that you almost forgot about me."

"You were imprisoned. How can you..."

"Trust me, I'm more powerful than you can imagine."

"You're a low-level telepath at best, Grey. You are nothing to me."

"Only what you were led to believe. Xavier placed blocks on my powers to prevent me from accessing them unless the need was great. And then he purged that information from his memory to prevent you from learning it."

"Don't make me laugh. The pyrotechnic show is very impressive but it's going to take more than magic tricks to send me away."

"Fair enough."

The flames around Jean begin to take the form of a giant bird of some sort, a bird composed completely of fire.

"You're dealing with the Phoenix now, buddy."

"Phoenix...?" asks Thunderbird.

"Hey, don't look at me," replies Dazzler.

The bird's talon reaches down and wraps around the Shadow King. The Shadow King attempts to try and shut down Jean's mind, but he is hit with a wall of resistance.

"Wha... impossible!"

Jean smiles and the wings of the Phoenix engulf Xavier's body.

"The only way to stop me is to kill me, and to do that, you must kill Xavier! You don't have that in you!"

"Wanna bet? Xavier's body may be dead, but his mind is still out there somewhere."

"And without me, you'll never be able to find it again!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

The flames grow stronger, and the Shadow King cries out. There is a wave of light which blinds everyone briefly. When the light has gone, Jean stands on the ground before them, with her eyes still glowing. Xavier's body is on the ground, lifeless, and Fury is unconscious.

"Umm... Jean?" asks Dazzler.

"Yeah, it's me," replies Jean.

"How'd you do that?" asks Dazzler. Jean shrugs.

"Man, that was fucking awesome!" exclaims Thunderbird. "Shit, did you guys see that? She just went fucking medieval on his ass!"

Jean blushes slightly.

"Guess if I could impress you then it was worth it, huh?" she says.

"Damn straight," says Thunderbird.

"So now what do we do?" asks Cyclops. 

"Guess we just wait for Fury to wake up," replies Jean. She looks back at the ruins of the mansion. "Oh... oops. Sorry about that guys."

The sound of helicopters is heard overhead. SHIELD transports begin to surround the X-Men, and SHIELD agents armed to the teeth follow.

"Everyone freeze!" exclaims an agent. "You're all under arrest! Move and we shoot!"

"Wait... what?" asks Thunderbird. "Don't they realize that we're the good guys?"

"I guess not," says Nightcrawler. "What do we do?"

"I think the time has come for us to leave," says Magneto. He extends his arms and hovers in the air. The other X-Men begin to hover with him.

"Fire!" exclaims the agent. The SHIELD infantry opens fire, yet the bullets seem to strike some sort of invisible barrier.

"What do we do?" asks Cyclops. "I mean, we were supposed to be working for those guys."

"You have a better path ahead of you, X-Men," replies Magneto. "Trust me, this is just the beginning."

* * *

Elsewhere, two men, one larger than the other, both well-built, stand in front of a window and watch the sun rise.

"The Phoenix."

"Yes."

"Five hundred years, on the dot."


End file.
